“When it comes to energy security in the long term, there is no better antidote than focusing on sustainable energy,” said EU Climate and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Cañete at the launch of a new EU energy security master plan in Brussels on 16 February. The Commission defended its proposals – which focus on safeguarding gas supplies – as an aid to moving Europe along to a low-carbon economy as well as preparing it for possible supply … [Read more...]
A health check for the oil majors: not dead yet
Market watchers are announcing the demise of the oil majors. Not for the first time. According to Jilles van den Beukel, former geoscientist with Shell, the oil companies are indeed seeing their world shrinking. But they are not dead yet: their reason for being – the world’s demand for oil and gas – is still there. … [Read more...]
The moral case for fossil fuels? Let them eat solar panels!
In the wake of the Paris climate accord, there has been much discussion of the so-called ‘moral case’ for fossil fuels, particularly in countries such as India. But according to professor John Mathews of Macquarie University in Australia, rolling out renewable energy in developing countries should be the real legacy of the Paris climate agreement. Renewables offer them the best chance to break into manufacturing value chains. … [Read more...]
Behavioural change could deliver half of industry energy saving potential
Expert studies show that there is still vast untapped energy efficiency potential of up to 25% in European heavy industry. Moreover around half of that, or 10-15%, could be delivered through behavioural change at zero capital cost. So far, the EU has mandated energy audits for large companies, but not application of their results. Energy Post looks at how a new heating and cooling strategy due on 16 February and a review of the EU’s energy … [Read more...]
How far can renewables go? Pretty darn far
This is part 4 of a series looking at the economic trends of new energy technologies by the famous author and thinker Ramez Naam. Part 1 looked at how cheap solar can get (very cheap indeed). Part 2 looked at the declining cost and rising reliability of wind power. Part 3 looked at how cheap energy storage can get (pretty darn cheap). Now Naam discusses how far renewables can go. … [Read more...]
Cost of capital for renewables varies hugely across EU
It is much more expensive to undertake onshore wind projects in some European countries than others, according to the first-ever study of these costs for the entire EU-28. The EU-funded “Diacore” project finds moreover that market actors single out the design and reliability of renewable support schemes as the single biggest risk (after generic country risk) driving up the cost of capital. Best practice policy design could cut support costs for … [Read more...]
The cheapest way to scale up wind and solar energy? High-tech power lines
A new study from researchers at the prestigious National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US concludes that the US can cut greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity sector by 80 per cent while keeping prices at or below current levels. The key to achieving this is to build a nationwide, modernised grid that will allow large-scale systems integration of renewable energies.Scientist Christopher Clack explains how the … [Read more...]
Carbon capture and storage comeback must focus on industry not energy
Since the Paris climate agreement and its ambitious resolve to keep global warming to 1.5C over pre-industrial temperatures, a number of influential publications have been declaring the death of carbon capture and storage (CCS). But critics fail to make a distinction between CCS for power plants and for industrial manufacturing, writes Charles Digges of the Norwegian NGO Bellona. CCS is the only way to substantially reduce industrial emissions. … [Read more...]
Future is hi-tech, high value-added and non-energy-intensive
The growth of advanced economies depends increasingly on hi-tech information rather than traditional commodities, writes Fereidoon Sionshansi, president of Menlo Energy Economics and publisher of the newsletter EEnergy Informer. It is no coincidence that ExxonMobil, long the largest US company, is no longer in the top three. “Future growth will depend on every smaller amounts of energy.” … [Read more...]
Renewable energy demand in Europe reaches record levels
The demand for renewable electricity in Europe based on Guarantees of Origin (GO) validated by the European EECS standard continued to grow in 2015. The growth is up more than 8% from 2014 and surpassed 340 TWh, reports ECOZH, a Norwegian renewable energy supplier. … [Read more...]
EXCLUSIVE: EU paints challenging picture of Europe’s nuclear future
In a leaked draft document obtained by Energy Post, the European Commission outlines the investments in the EU nuclear industry that it believes are needed out to 2050. The document, originally announced for last year, but off the table again for February, paints a challenging picture for the European nuclear industry. €450-550 billion will have to be spent on new plants and lifetime extensions, costs of decommissioning and waste management are … [Read more...]
World Energy Council: storage is less expensive than we think
A narrow focus on ‘levelised cost of energy’ (LCoE) can be misleading when looking at the business case for energy storage. This is one of the major conclusions of a new study E-storage – shifting from cost to value carried out by the World Energy Council into the real costs of energy storage. The report is calling for the true value of energy storage to be recognised by taking into account both its cost and revenue benefits. … [Read more...]
Record increase renewables in Europe, but emissions stay level
2015 saw a record 2.5% increase in renewables generation in Europe, which now makes up 29% of total European electricity supply,reports UK think tank Sandbag. However, as a result of lower output from hydropower and nuclear power stations, the amount of fossil fuel generation barely changed. CO2-emissions from the power sector fell only 0.5% after a 7.5% fall in 2014, but according to Sandbag this year will see a rapid fall again. … [Read more...]
Whatever happened to electricity market liberalisation?
In the EU, and the UK in particular, the liberalisation of the electricity market is rapidly being reversed and replaced by old-fashioned command-and-control policies, writes Carlo Stagnaro, Senior Fellow of the Italian free market think tank Istituto Bruno Leoni. One of the main reasons for this reversal are interventionist climate policies. According to Stagnaro, who has a new book out on energy liberalisation, this trend will lead to … [Read more...]
Why the new Saudi oil policy is likely to succeed
Many observers have been surprised by the willingness of Saudi Arabia to let the oil price collapse. But according to geophysicist and former geoscientist at Shell, Jilles van den Beukel the policy of the Saudis makes perfect sense. What is more, it is likely to succeed. … [Read more...]
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